Editing Domitian (section)

====Dacian wars (85–88)====
{{further|Domitian's Dacian War}}

The most significant threat the Roman Empire faced during the reign of Domitian arose from the northern provinces of Illyricum, where the Suebi, the Sarmatians and the Dacians continuously harassed Roman settlements along the [[Danube]] river. Of these, the Sarmatians and the Dacians posed the most formidable threat. In approximately 84 or 85 the Dacians, led by King [[Decebalus]], crossed the Danube into the province of [[Moesia]], wreaking havoc and killing the Moesian governor [[Oppius Sabinus]].<ref name=jones-138>Jones (1992), p. 138</ref> Domitian quickly launched a [[counterattack|counteroffensive]], personally travelling to the region accompanied by a large force commanded by his praetorian prefect [[Cornelius Fuscus]]. Fuscus successfully drove the Dacians back across the border in mid-85, prompting Domitian to return to Rome and celebrate his second triumph.<ref name=jones-139>Jones (1992), p. 139</ref>

The victory proved short-lived, however: as early in 86 Fuscus embarked on an ill-fated expedition into Dacia. Fuscus was killed, and the [[Aquila (Roman)|battle standard]] of the Praetorian Guard was lost.<ref name=jones-138/> The loss of the battle standard, or ''[[Aquila (Roman)|aquila]]'', was indicative of a crushing defeat and a serious affront to Roman national pride. Domitian returned to Moesia in August 86. He divided the province into Lower Moesia and Upper Moesia, and transferred three additional legions to the Danube. In 87, the Romans invaded Dacia once more, this time under the command of [[Tettius Julianus]], and finally defeated [[Decebalus]] in late 88 at the same site where Fuscus had previously perished.<ref name=jones-142>Jones (1992), p. 142</ref> An attack on the Dacian capital [[Sarmizegetusa Regia|Sarmizegetusa]] was forestalled when new troubles arose on the Germanic frontier in 89.<ref name=jones-150>Jones (1992), p. 150</ref>

In order to avert having to conduct a war on two fronts, Domitian agreed to terms of peace with Decebalus, negotiating free access of Roman troops through the Dacian region while granting Decebalus an annual subsidy of 8 million sesterces.<ref name=jones-150/> Contemporary authors severely criticized this treaty, which was considered shameful to the Romans and left the deaths of Sabinus and Fuscus unavenged.<ref name=jones-195>Jones (1992), p. 195</ref> For the remainder of Domitian's reign Dacia remained a relatively peaceful [[client state|client kingdom]], but Decebalus used the Roman money to fortify his defenses.<ref name=Salmon/> Domitian probably wanted a new war against the Dacians, and reinforced Upper Moesia with two more cavalry units brought from Syria and with at least five cohorts brought from Pannonia. Trajan continued Domitian's policy and added two more units to the auxiliary forces of Upper Moesia, and then he used the build up of troops for his Dacian wars.<ref>{{cite journal | last = Knight | first = D. J. | title = The Movements of the Auxilia from Augustus to Hadrian | journal = Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik | volume = 85 | year = 1991 | pages = 189–208 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last = Matei-Popescu | first = Florian | title = The Auxiliary Units from Moesia Superior in Domitian's Time and the Problem of CIL XVI 41 | journal = Ephemeris Napocensis | volume = 16–17 | year = 2006–2007 | pages = 31–48 }}</ref> Eventually the Romans achieved a decisive victory against Decebalus in 106. Again, the Roman army sustained heavy losses, but Trajan succeeded in capturing Sarmizegetusa and, importantly, annexed the Dacian gold and silver mines.<ref name=Salmon>{{cite journal | last = Salmon | first = Edward Togo | title = Trajan's Conquest of Dacia | journal = Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association | volume = 67 | pages = 83–105 | year = 1936 | jstor = 283229 | doi = 10.2307/283229 }}</ref>